Machines for preparing and thereafter seeding a tract of ground are old and well-known in the art, and in some instances power-driven lawn slicing and seed depositing machines have been provided. Exemplary of the prior art on the subject are the following U.S. patents:
In Fraser U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,677, a power-driven combination top dresser, spiker and planter is described having circular spiking elements disposed on the front wheel shaft.
Morrison, Jr. et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,090,456 and 4,141,302 show an automatic seed planting mechanism in which the planter unit is pivotably connected so as to permit it to follow a curved path (see for example the disclosure in columns 6 and 7).
Boots U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,980 provides an automatic seeder in which furrow-forming disks are spaced two inches apart, and the use of flexible hoses to connect a seed hopper to delivery tubes or the like is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,691,353, to Secundo, 2,748,986 to Younger and 4,084,522 to Steel.
Cohen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,760 discloses earth working apparatus in which the rear "dolly" wheel is pivotable.
Despite the level of activity in the art indicated by the foregoing, the need remains for a relatively compact, power-driven lawn seeding machine which is highly maneuverable and efficient in its operation, and it is therefore a broad object of the present invention to provide a novel machine having those characteristics.
More specific objects of the invention are to provide such a machine that is capable of functioning as an all-terrain slicer/seeder, which can turn on relatively small radii and can plant a lawn effectively in single-pass operation, covering a relatively wide swath and despite steep inclines.
Another object is to provide a novel self-contained seed delivery unit suitable for use as a trailer for a lawn slicing machine.